Butcher knife



Oct. 31, 1939.

A. BLAIS BUTCHER KNIFE Filed Sept. 28, 1938 R o T N E v m ARI STIDE BLA [8 ATTOR NE Y Patented Oct. 31 1939 I g D STATES PATENT OFFICE Aristide Blais, Richmond, Quebec, Canada Application September 28, 1938, SerialNo. 232,188

2 Claims.

This invention relates to knives used for slaughtering animals; and it comprises a knife including a" steel blade partially embedded in one end of a hollow metal handle through 5 which the blood is drawn from the wound made by the blade, the embedded portion of the blade and adjacent end portions of the handle being recessed to provide registering openings through which the blood enters the handle and flows therethrough to a discharge opening at the end remote from the blade.

In the present application I have disclosed a preferred embodiment in which the blade comprises a triangular body having two sides of unequal length sharpened to provide cutting edges and the third. side provided with integral shank extensions projecting therefrom. The shank extensions and adjoining portions of the blade body are permanently embedded in the blade end of the handle so that the blade and handle form, in eifect, a single unitary structure. The body of the blade is provided, between the shank extensions, with a recess registering with semicircular recesses formed in opposite side portions of the handle. These recesses provide the flow openings through which the blood enters the blade end of the handle, the latter being provided with window openings through which the flow'of blood may be observed and being threaded, at the end remote from the blade, to provide for attachment of the handle to a suction or other flexible conduit through which the blood may be conveyed to any desired point.

The design of the blade and the assembling thereof with the handle are such that a line drawn from the base to the apex of the triangular body portion of the blade is obliquelyinclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the handle.

The construction described herein provides a strong and durable instrument through which all the blood from the wound may be drawn through the hollow metal handle in a remarkably short time, especially when the metal handle 43 is heated prior to use to prevent congealing of the blood flowing therethrough. It also provides a construction which enables the blade and handle to be rigidly and permanently secured together in a simple and inexpensive manner by 50 casting the handle onto the shank extension and adjoining body portions of the blade which are to be-embedded in the blade end of the handle.

Proceeding now to a more detailed description reference will be had to the accompanying drawing in which-- 'Fig. 1 is a plan view of the knife as it appears when looking toward one of the cutting edges of theblade.

Fig. 2 is a'side view of the knife taken at right angles to Fig. 1, a portion of the blade end of 5 the handle being shown broken away to disclose the manner in which the blade is partially embedded in thehandle.

Fig. 3 is an end view looking toward the blade end of the knife and shows the openings through 10 which the blood passes from the wound into the hollow interior of the handle.

Fig. l'is an end view of the discharge end of the knife and shows the discharge openings provided at the end of the handle remote from the "15 blade, and

Fig. 5 is a side view of the cutting blade appearing in the preceding figures.

Referring more particularly to the drawing,

5 designates the cutting blade carried at one end 20 of a hollow metal handle 6. The opposite end of handle 6 is provided with glazed windows 1. The end of the handle remote from the blade 5 is threadedly engaged, as indicated at 8, with one end of a flexible hose or conduit 9. 25

The blade 5 comprises a triangular steel body portion l0 having three sides H, I 2 and I3 of unequal length. The two sides II and I2 are sharpened to provide cutting edges I4 and I5. The third side I3 is provided with integral shank o extensions l6 which are permanently embedded in opposite wall portions of the blade end of the handle 6, as shown in Fig. 1. Adjacent their free ends the shank extensions l6 are provided with notches I! which are filled by the metal 35 of the handle to provide a strong interlocking connection between the parts. The blade end of handle 6 is also provided, at opposite sides of the blade, with semi-circular recesses l8. These recesses register with a recess l9 formed 40 in the blade 5 between the shank extensions I6. The registering recesses l8 and I9 provide fiow openings through which the blood enters the blade end of the handle and fiows toward the opposite end which is connected to the conduit 45 9. It will be noted that portions 511 of the blade immediately adjoining the shank extensions l6 are also embedded in the blade end of the handle 6. This provides a stronger construction than would be obtained if the shank extensions only were embedded in the handle.

Prior to using the knife described herein it is first heated in a suitable manner, for example, by dipping it in hot water, so that the blood flowing from the Wound made by the blade will not congeal during its passage through the handle. The blade is then plunged into the throat of the animal so that the blood flowing from the pierced artery will enter the handle through the flow openings l8 and I9 and flow rapidly through the hollow interior of the handle to the discharge conduit 9 which serves to deliver the blood to any suitable receptacle. If desired, the conduit 9 may be placed under suction pressure to assist in drawing the blood from the wound.

It will be noted that the construction of the blade and the assembly thereof with the handle is such that a line drawn from the base to the apex of the triangular body portion of the blade extends in an obliquely inclined direction with respect to the longitudinal axis of the handle. It will also be noted that the shorter cutting edge l4 of the blade has a slight reverse curvature. When the blade is plunged through the throat of the animal the unequal length of the cutting edges [4 and I5 and the reverse curvature of the edge 14 tend to cause the blade to follow along the line of the artery as it is plunged home, and this ensures a more rapid extraction of the blood.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. A knife of the character described comprising a hollow metal handle provided with a discharge opening at one end, a separately formed metal blade comprising a triangular body portion having two sides of unequal length sharpened to provide cutting edges, the third side being embedded in the end of the handle remote from the discharge opening and being provided with shank extensions also embedded in opposite Wall portions of the handle, the embedded portion of the blade and the adjacent portions of the handle being recessed to provide registering openings through which the blood enters the handle and flows therethrough to said discharge opening.

2. A knife as set forth in claim 1 in which the recess formed in said blade is located between said shank extensions.

ARISTIDE BLAIS. 

